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The Shepherd King

How do we respond to the voice of our shepherd-king? As his sheep, we should recognise his voice.

David: Shepherd and King 

David is regarded as Israel’s greatest king. The youngest of eight brothers, he was a shepherd who became a war hero, who became a fugitive, who became a military commander and eventually became king. He’s also famous for writing many of the psalms in the Bible: songs and poems which reveal his deep love and trust for God throughout all his experiences.

Are we listening? We listen by allowing God’s Word to speak to our minds and hearts. And remember: this is not just the voice of the shepherd. It’s the voice of the king…

2 Samuel 7:8-16 gives only a brief overview of his life, but it starts with David’s early years as a shepherd caring for the sheep. When he was convincing Saul that he could fight Goliath, he explained how he’d risked his life fighting lions and bears to protect the sheep from harm. Likewise, he cared deeply about his friends and followers, and as king we see someone very ready to lead and care for his people.

He had a great faith in God, knowing that God was always with him. It had been a violent and turbulent time in Israel’s history with many strong armies trying to destroy them. But under David’s leadership, God gave them victory and a time of rest from their enemies. Unlike his predecessor, King Saul, David is a great example of someone who did things God’s way and therefore was used by God to achieve great things!

God described David as a man after his own heart (Acts 13:22). This doesn’t suggest that David was in any way perfect, and like us, he made some big mistakes. However, God could see David’s love and his genuine desire to serve, whatever the cost. God said he would make David’s name great and his royal line would last forever, a promise fulfilled with the birth of David’s most famous descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ.


Ian Seddon, The Church of God in Manchester


Jesus the ShepherdKing 

Kings of Israel had a very privileged position, declared in the coronation psalm:

“I have installed My King upon Zion [Jerusalem]… You are My Son”

Psalm 2:6-7

In recognising the King of Israel as a ‘son’, God was bestowing on him the unique position of speaking with the authority of the Father. When the King spoke, he should have reflected the will of God – what else is to be expected in the kingdom of God on earth?

In the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, this principle is taken to a new height: ‘in these last days God has spoken to us in His Son’ (Heb. 1:2). This is a game-changer: this unique Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Father’s perfect speech to the world. ‘The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God’ (Heb. 1:3 NLT). Echoing the words that we have considered in the context of the kings of Israel, God said to His one and only Son:

You are My Son, today I have begotten You… I will be to Him and Father, and He will be a Son to Me… Your throne, O God, is forever and ever

Heb. 1:5-8

Jesus, God’s Son, is the king in God’s kingdom, and the ultimate and perfect fulfilment of the father-son relationship seen depicted between God and the Old Testament kings installed in Jerusalem. And He speaks with all of the authority of God the Father, in a way that those kings never could!

In recognising the King of Israel as a ‘son’, God was bestowing on him the unique position of speaking with the authority of the Father. When the King spoke, he should have reflected the will of God – what else is to be expected in the kingdom of God on earth?

We are thankful that our king is not a distant monarch, but is someone who cares deeply about us. Just as David became king of Israel after first learning how to care for his sheep (2 Sam. 7:8), so the Lord Jesus has a shepherd heart for his subjects. Could we ever doubt his care for us? “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11). He has supremely demonstrated his love and commitment to us by laying down his life so that we may be his forever. Therefore he is not distant, but says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (Jn. 10:27). His voice should be familiar to us, as the person we follow closely.

So the challenge is this: how do we respond to the voice of our shepherd-king? As his sheep, we should recognise his voice. His voice should instruct us, calm our fears, and spur us into action. It should cause us to follow. Are we listening? We listen by allowing God’s Word to speak to our minds and hearts. And remember: this is not just the voice of the shepherd. It’s the voice of the king: the Son, installed in the heavenly Zion, who rightfully speaks with the authority of God himself and rules over the kingdom of God on earth.

It’s our responsibility to proclaim the excellencies of the King to the world (1 Pet. 2:9). How wonderful that, in doing so, we can be part of his speech to them, mirroring in some small way the example of the shepherd-king we follow; speaking with authority, gentleness and love.

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